Page 23 of Feline Good

Her breath caught, and Maya didn’t know if it was the ache still brewing from the peep show in the bathroom, or the adrenaline leaving her body making her weak in the moment, but she was this close to grabbing him by the hand and pulling him into her bedroom.

Instead, a throat cleared, jerking Maya from the moment, and she pulled away from August. Cheeks flaming, she went and leaned against wall of cabinets in her tiny kitchen, f keeping her eyes on the others and trying to hide how much August affected her. Her nipples strained against the black bra she wore, and for once, Maya was thankful to be wearing it. Under their intense stares, she might as well have been naked.

Suddenly, it felt as if all of the energy left her body, and she sagged, listing to the side before catching herself on the wall to her right.

“Woah, woah!”

Warm arms gathered her close, and she blinked her eyes open to find Amir holding her. He peered down at her, concern obvious in his light golden eyes.

Maya nodded when he asked if she could hear him, but she slammed her eyes closed as all the light in the room decided to pierce her head with a skull-shattering ache. It was as if all of the electric energy she’d had during the fight dissipated.

Movement jostled her before she sat on a soft surface, leaning back against her comfy couch. Cracking open an eye, she noticed the fierce expression on Amir’s face as he regarded her.

His rough voice barked at August, as if the man held all the answers. “What the fuck’s wrong with her?”

Maya’s lips twitched into the smallest smile through the pain in her head at August’s answer. “I don’t know! This has never happened before, at least not from what the book said! It’s probably got something to do with the strength she had during the fight.”

Blindly reaching out, she grabbed the hand nearest her and squeezed tight to get their attention. A rough hand squeezed back, and she found the smallest glimmer of energy to pry her eyes open.

It was Asher who held her hand, and she offered him a weak smile. “I think it’s safe to say that the bar should close tonight.” Maya hated to miss out on the business, especially the day after a sucker’s holiday, but she wasn’t in any shape to run a bar, and Theo needed to go home eventually.

The guys must have seen the disappointment on her face, because they shared a glance before Asher spoke, stroking a soft rhythm into her skin. “It doesn’t have to close. We could run it if you’d like.”

Maya shook her head, already denying the offer. “No. You guys have done enough. It’s fine. We could all use a shower and a night to figure all this shit out.”

August scoffed, reminding her, “I’ve watched you do the books, Maya. You need the business.”

Shooting him a scathing look, she cursed the fact he was right. However, Maya hated the thought of losing the night’s patrons even more than turning control of her bar over to the guys. And Maya thrived on control.

Maya shook her head in protest. “No. I don’t have it in me tonight. We need to sit down, figure out where the amulet is, who those fuckers were, and—”

“And keep the bar open. We know how it works.”

She couldn’t help it, she found the energy to laugh. “You guys want to tend my bar?” She eyed the bruised faces, bloody lips, and scraped knuckles, and a smile crossed her lips. Underneath the remnants of the fight that could be washed away with a shower, she studied their beautiful eyes and their strong jawlines and flawless hair. An idea began to take root.

“Done. I’ll call it ladies night.”

Asher’s smile brightened, and he tightened the hold on her hand before bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss. “Wait, really? I didn’t think you’d go for that.”

Her dizzy spell subsiding, she sent them a sloppy wink. “You’re right, I need all the help I can get. Why not have three, tall, dark, and handsome men tend bar for a night? You’ll be great. Now all we need to do is make you pretty again. Showers are in order.”

They smirked at her comment, but all agreed once they caught a glimpse of how rough they looked. With a nod of her head, Amir carried her to the bathroom. He made her promise she could stand on her own, and she shooed him out with a slam of the door.

The hot water was heaven on her aching muscles, but even with her emotions rampant because of everything that had happened, she couldn’t ignore the fact that only a few walls separated them. It was completely out of character, and uncalled for amongst everything going wrong, but she chalked it up to the connection they seemed to share. As the loofah slid over her skin, leaving a trail of lily scented bubbles, her thoughts bounced back to her dream from that morning and her peep show of Asher’s own shower.

Maya had only ever been with one man: Alex. But just a few walls away, stood three that, according to Amir, were desperate for her. She didn’t know quite how she felt about that— okay fine, that was a lie. The words he spoke between the bookshelves were going to keep her up all night. He’d all but dared her to sleep with him. With any of them.

Or all of them?

Maya could only imagine, with their defined muscles and beautiful tanned skin… she’d already seen them naked, and honestly, she wished that she’d been greedier with her gaze at the time, instead of shocked and in denial.

No! No man-candy for you.

Maya begrudgingly agreed with her inner self. After Alex, she refused to even go down that road; she wasn’t ready. Giving someone that much control over her again was not an option. What happened with Asher couldn’t go any further— with any of them.

Pushing the thoughts aside, she ended her shower quickly to conserve the hot water. After she changed, she opened the door to let one of the others have a turn, and she retreated downstairs. Her cheeks flushed, and she worried they would know what she’d considered for a split second.

By the time she debriefed Theo, Maya still hadn’t decided if she would regret hiring the cats for the night. They had already started helping customers and taking orders from the other waitress. Maya was pleased to find that one of them had patched up her back door like she’d requested, though she didn’t know know who to thank for the work. When did they even find the time, anyway? Maya had been with them ever since they’d shifted, at least since that morning.